ETIOLOGY OF CHRONIC ACTIVE HEPATITIS IN KOREA

Abstract

In a study of apparently normal, healthy Korean Army recruits performed in 1962, 42 of 1906 screened subjects had elevations of their serum glutamic pyruvate transaminase. Liver biopsies were obtained from 32 of these subjects and 9 of these had a novel antigen present, which reacted specifically with a convalescent serum from a case of serum hepatitis. Frozen serum obtained from 8/9 of these cases was tested; all 8 had HBsAg [hepatitis B surface antigen] in their serum which, in some cases, persisted for at least 3 mo. Histological specimens from the original 32 cases were reviewed using newly defined criteria; 18 were diagnosed as chronic active hepatitis and the 8 HBsAg positive cases with the novel antigen were in this group. In 4 of these cases the lesion appeared to progress to cirrhosis during a 3-4 mo. follow-up period. Since none of the cases had a prior history of hepatitis and no symptoms developed during the follow-up period, the significance of chronic hepatitis B virus carrier state in the etiology of cryptogenic cirrhosis was emphasized.